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We are on break here, and it has been lovely.
Note I didn’t say still; we’ve had visitors, recitals, events, concerts, and parties. But we’ve had them together, and we’ve had them with the joyful revelation that this is Christmas.
It’s been wonderful having our college kids here at the breakfast table, beside us on the couch, cooking alongside me in the kitchen, laughing with their siblings over some in-joke. Mom brag: both have maintained their perfect 4.0 GPAs yet again. They’ve worked their tails off, and are tired but happy. It’s definitely bittersweet for both of them to be home. Mathaus summed it up best by explaining that he wants to be here to be with these people, and there to be with someone, and the only answer is to put all of his people in one place. That hit me hard, because goodness if that isn’t the heart of so much of adulthood. The evidence of their independence is everywhere this Christmas, but the meshing of our mutual lives has been so sweet for this time.
We hit pause on our school schedule as of Monday. That’s meant lots of time for crafts and random distractions.
Phineas has taken very few breaks from drawing. He loves Art4KidsHub, and doodle books. Each morning, he gathers his pencils and a stack of plain paper and sets to work creating whatever masterpiece he has in mind. He has been outrageously delighted not to have to interrupt his passion for, you know… school.
John Mark is currently obsessed with all things rocketry. He built an Estes dual stage rocket with Jack, but hasn’t been able to launch it due to unpredictable winds. He’s been making due with a bike pump rocket, which I think he has launched a billion times in the past four days.
Birdie has been alternating between spending long hours playing violin, giving our Golden Retriever refresher training courses, and knitting. A sweet, patient friend was finally able to get her independently up and running, and she has been delighted to finally have speed as well as skill. She and I recently began choral reading Little Women. As expected, she is in love.
You’d be disappointed if I didn’t tell you that Simon was taking every spare second to roam the property in his Davy Crockett hat whilst reliving the Alamo. Thankfully, he has. His only sadness in life has been that his father and I have insisted that he dress appropriately for the weather, which means no bare chest or feet.
And little Jude has been rising his scooter daily, building with Legos, and begging to go to the creek. (He’s been several times, but not everyone else is as smitten with the chilly water as he is!) He’s been loving the Christmas picture books we’ve picked up at the library each week. He’s especially fond of Patricia Polacco (who isn’t?) and asked to be read Christmas Tapestry, The Trees of the Dancing Goats, An Orange for Frankie, and Gifts of the Heart a hundred times each before their return date.
As for me, I’ve been knitting a decadent amount. Baking. Enjoying the combination of chaos and quiet that is Christmas. Appreciating the small step back from our regular school routine. A bit of me wants to take stock of the year’s progress thus far and begin planning the next quarter, but I’ve held that impulse in check. Plenty of time for that. Today is for drinking in these moments with these people.
